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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24462145">misadventures in hostage negotiation</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/simply_kelp/pseuds/simply_kelp'>simply_kelp</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, but it's okay cause they sort of get along, sokka isn't the best hostage, zuko isn't the best at taking hostages</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 01:00:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,534</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24462145</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/simply_kelp/pseuds/simply_kelp</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>And that’s when Sokka’s train of thought gets cut off and becomes: yay, dark. Because there is some kind of sack over his head and he really must not have been paying attention if someone was able to sneak up behind him and yep, that’s some kind of blunt object at the back of his head and now it’s dark again only this time he’s unconscious.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sokka &amp; Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>141</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>misadventures in hostage negotiation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Stupid magic water,” Sokka spits. He swings his club at a nearby bush. “ ‘We’ll save the village, Sokka. It’s pretty dangerous, you can go look for food.’ ” It’s not like he wanted to help some random Earth Kingdom village anyway.</p><p>“All it is is waterbending this, airbending that,” he mutters. He’s been trampling through the woods for about an hour now, so loud he’s no doubt scared away anything he could have caught. He saw some berries that he’s pretty sure aren’t poisonous about twenty minutes ago. He thinks he can circle back and find them again if he doesn’t find something with meat first.</p><p>And yeah, okay, maybe he’s a <em>little</em> jealous. It’s not like he wants to splash around with magic water or shoot fireballs out of his hands but it would be nice if Katara and Aang stopped treating him like he can’t fight. He’s a warrior for spirits’ sake. And yeah, he hasn’t actually done much fighting in his fifteen years of life but he’s pretty sure he’s had more practice than the both of them combined. Sometimes it’s just so—</p><p>And that’s when Sokka’s train of thought gets cut off and becomes: yay, dark. Because there is some kind of sack over his head and he really must not have been paying attention if someone was able to sneak up behind him and yep, that’s some kind of blunt object at the back of his head and now it’s dark again only this time he’s unconscious.</p><p>Sokka wakes up but keeps his eyes shut. He’s listening for any indication of where he could be. It’s quiet, he must be indoors. It’s warm and the air smells stuffy. His hands are bound. He’s sitting on a wooden chair. He strains his ears to hear someone else’s breathing.</p><p>“I know you’re awake,” a voice says. Sokka knows that voice. Oh, great, it’s Zuko. As if Sokka’s day could have gotten any worse. “You’re breathing’s changed.”</p><p>Sokka opens his eyes. He’s in a small room probably in an inn. He’s seated next to a small table with another chair opposite him and a large bureau behind that. There is a bed which is currently occupied by Zuko’s Fire Nation helmet. He can see a tiny kitchenette out of the corner of his eye to the left and behind him. Zuko is standing in front of him, and okay, yes, he’d been purposely avoiding looking at Zuko in his first look around because a little part of him hoped that maybe if he just didn’t see the jerk, the jerk wouldn’t really be there.</p><p>“Let me guess: I’m the bait?”</p><p>-</p><p>It’s been a few hours since he woke up and Sokka’s starting to think Aang and Katara don’t know he’s missing yet. That’s reassuring. Zuko stopped pacing a long time ago and has been staring out the window for the past hour or so.</p><p>“Did you leave a note?” Sokka asks finally. Zuko startles almost as if he’d forgotten Sokka was here or capable of speech. “Trail of breadcrumbs? Anything?” Zuko doesn’t answer but Sokka didn’t really expect him to. “All I’m saying is Aang probably doesn’t even know I’m here.”</p><p>“Do you often go off on your own all day?” Zuko asks. Sokka can sense a mild but genuine curiosity behind the question. He’s facing Sokka now.</p><p>Sokka shrugs, thankful that at least he isn’t tied <em>to</em> the chair. “Sometimes,” he says.</p><p>When Zuko realizes Sokka isn’t going to continue he turns back to the window. The sunlight is fading from the room leaving the unscarred side of Zuko’s face cloaked in shadows. Sokka’s stomach grumbles. His last meal was this morning—a bit of fish and some rice—and he remembers the blubbered seal jerky in his bag he left at camp with a pang of misery.</p><p>Sokka sighs, stretches his bound hands as far out and up as he can reach, rolls his head from side to side, pops his back, sighs again. He can see the muscles in Zuko’s shoulders tense. “What’s your deal anyway?” Sokka asks.</p><p>“What?” Zuko, Sokka thinks, is legitimately taken off guard by the question. He doesn’t turn around. Sokka watches as Zuko’s whole body stiffens. He wonders if he should really be poking the polar bear dog.</p><p>Sokka debates for a minute. He could just say <em>forget it</em> and let it go. After all he likes his face and all his limbs without any fire-related injuries. Zuko isn’t the most patient guy—probably actually tops the list of most <em>im</em>patient people. But he’s curious. And yeah, curiosity killed the catdeer but curiosity is also what makes Sokka the ideas guy and he needs to come up with something crazy and stupid that just might work. So he says: “You’ve been chasing us halfway around the world, I think I deserve to know why.”</p><p>That gets Zuko to turn around. He stares at Sokka, his good eye squinting to match the other one. Zuko raises his eyebrow. “You really don’t know,” he says condescendingly. The <em>you’re kidding me, moron</em> is implied.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, you’re trying to catch Aang for some dastardly purpose,” Sokka says. He rolls his eyes. They make them dumber in the Fire Nation. “I know that, but you’ve been behind us like an angry polar bear dog and I want to know why.”</p><p>“It’s not enough that capturing the Avatar ensures the Fire Nation’s victory?”</p><p>Sokka considers this for a moment. “No,” he says simply. When Zuko doesn’t answer he continues: “You’re the Fire Prince, you could totally be bossing servants around in your big, fancy palace instead of spending weeks on end chasing a twelve-year-old. You don’t have any personal stake in this. You could send some jerk general—like that Zhao guy, I hate that guy—without having to do anything.”</p><p>Zuko lets out a huff of breath. Sokka might call it a laugh if he thought the jerk were capable of it. “Trust me, I’d much rather be home than chasing the Avatar.”</p><p>“Aha!” Sokka says. He tried to point a finger at Zuko but his hands are bound too tightly to do so without looking stupid. Zuko shoots him a look that’s half-glare, half-eyebrow-raise. “You don’t want to be here,” Sokka says triumphantly. And a little slowly to make sure the dumb jerk is following along. “So why are you?”</p><p>Zuko exhales, pinches the bridge of his nose. He turns and faces the window again. “I lost something and capturing the Avatar will return it to me.”</p><p>“Is it the ability to look good bald? Because this hairstyle is doing you no favors.” Immediately Sokka regrets saying that. If his hands weren’t bound he probably would slap himself. When will he learn to keep his mouth <em>shut</em>?</p><p>Zuko whirls around and suddenly he’s much closer, his eyes flashing with fire. “This <em>hairstyle</em>—” Zuko says pointing to the ponytail aggressively swishing behind him. He doesn’t really blame Zuko for getting angry, he <em>hates</em> it when Katara makes fun of his wolf’s tail. “—is a royal topknot. It’s reserved for the crown prince of the Fire Nation.”</p><p>Sokka holds up his hands in what he hopes says <em>my bad, please don’t shoot any fireballs at me</em>. It seems to pacify Zuko because he turns to face the window again. “I need to capture the Avatar to restore my honor,” Zuko says. Sokka bites his bottom lip to keep from saying anything stupid again. After a moment Zuko continues, “And so I can go home.”</p><p>-</p><p>“Please don’t take it personally,” the old man says. “My nephew needs to learn to control his temper.” The old man, Sokka thinks he remembers his name is Iroh, putters around the tiny kitchenette. Sokka hears the clinking of glass and the low crackle of a fire. When Iroh comes back out Sokka cranes his neck to see two chipped cups sitting on the counter and a dark metal teapot over a small flame.</p><p>Iroh crosses the room and stands in front of Sokka. He gently lifts Sokka’s hands to inspect the binds tying them together. “An inexpert knot,” Iroh says slowly. “One tug here,” and at that he pointed to a loop of rope, “and it will come apart.” The teapot starts whistling. “Oh,” Iroh says happily as he lets go of Sokka’s wrists, “my tea is ready!”</p><p>Sokka watches the old man return to the kitchenette and pour two cups of tea. “I hope you like ginseng,” he says returning with one cup in each hand. He offers Sokka one of the cups. “It’s my favorite.”</p><p>Sokka gratefully accepts the cup. “Thanks,” he says and is surprised to realize he actually means it. It’s strange to think of a Fire Nation—not just any Fire Nation, but a member of the royal family, the Fire Lord’s own brother—as anything other than the enemy. Sokka curls his fingers around the steaming cup. He takes a sip. It’s good, spicy and hot. They don’t have tea in the South Pole.</p><p>“Now,” Iroh says with a little groan. Sokka hadn’t noticed him sitting down but the old man sets his cup down and stands from the chair opposite Sokka. “I wanted to talk with you about your weapons.” Sokka tenses, he knew the doddering old man was just an act. Iroh opens the bureau behind him and pulls out Sokka’s boomerang and club. He sets the club on the table but keeps the boomerang in hand. He turns it over in his hands. “I consider myself something of a collector, but I don’t think I’ve seen anything like this. Aren’t most Water Tribe boomerangs made of bone?”</p><p>Sokka watches the Iroh suspiciously. “Yes,” he says. The old man doesn’t seem to have anything in mind beside chit chat. Sokka is careful not to let his guard down but in the interest of not appearing rude—Iroh had been nice enough to give him tea after all—he adds, “My dad made it.”</p><p>“It is a unique weapon; my compliments to your father. The bladed edge,” Iroh says running his thumb over the tip, “very versatile, and do these holes make it fly better?” Sokka nodds. “I will be sad to see this specimen go,” he murmurs. He takes the club and the boomerang and sets them atop the bureau. “I will just leave these here for safe-keeping. I think my nephew will be back soon.”</p><p>-</p><p>“So what are you doing with the avatar?” Zuko asks. The question startles Sokka. Zuko’s been quietly brooding for the last few hours. Sokka’d kind of forgotten he could talk.</p><p>Sokka shrugs, shoots Zuko a sly grin. “Oh, you know save the world from a bunch of power hungry hotheads, you know. No big deal.”</p><p>Zuko’s good eyebrow furrows. “I meant why’s the avatar hanging around a couple of stupid Water Tribe peasants?”</p><p>There’s a little part of Sokka that wants to point out that he is not a stupid Water Tribe peasant. He’s a stupid Water Tribe noble, thank you very much. His dad is the chief so that makes him as close to royalty as the Southern Water Tribe can get. But he quashes down that very stupid part of himself because he does not want Zuko to do something like realize Sokka is a more valuable bargaining chip.</p><p>“Look,” Zuko says finally. The night sky is streaked with grey. It must be close to dawn. “I don’t care about you or your sister.” “There’s no reason for the Fire Nation to have anything to do with the South Pole. If I get the Avatar, I’ll make sure you and your sister get home safe where you can continue your boring existence.”</p><p>“My existence is not boring!”</p><p>“It’s the South Pole. What is there?” If Sokka isn’t mistaken Zuko’s voice sounds almost amused.</p><p>“Plenty!” Zuko shoots him a look that says <em>really?</em> “For one, I’m there,” Sokka says pointing his thumbs to his chest. “Well, not right now, but when I am the South Pole is like way cooler. But there’s also hunting and… penguin sledding… and did I mention me?” Sokka shrugs. “Okay so maybe it’s not the most exciting place.”</p><p>Zuko’s mouth twitches. Sokka isn’t sure if that’s the angry fire jerk equivalent of a smile. “Thought so,” he says smugly.</p><p>Suddenly there’s a loud crash. Zuko whirls away from the window and in half a second is at the door, his hand hovering over the knob. Sokka braces himself for a windblast that never comes.</p><p>He seizes the opportunity a distracted Zuko gives him and quickly tugs the rope around his wrists loose with his teeth followed shortly by the bonds around his ankles. Zuko turns around, eyes narrowing, his body sloping into a firebending stance. But Sokka is already jumping up and over toward the bureau where his weapons are still sitting. And Sokka at the moment has the advantage of the close quarters (too close to jet off huge fireballs without risking the surrounding walls and furniture), he grabs his club and clocks Zuko on the head.</p><p>Zuko drops. A little, teeny-tiny part of Sokka feels slightly bad about the situation when he sees the angry fire jerk—who Sokka knows now is not always angry and not always a jerk, just like 99% of the time—unconscious on the floor. He’s not dead. Sokka can see the Zuko’s chest rise just slightly. Sokka’s glad; he’s never killed anyone before. He quashes down the awkward uncertainty, grabs his boomerang and dashes out the door.</p><p>Aang is nowhere to be seen. There’s a raised voice from downstairs. Sokka doesn’t bother to check any of the other doors in the hallway; knowing his luck the one he’d try would be full of Zuko’s crew playing pai sho or something. He presses himself to the wall and makes his way to the stairs, keeping to the farthest side from the raised voice.</p><p>He sees, at the other end of the downstairs room, the origin of the crash and cause of the voice. A large cabinet is lying on its side with its contents spilled onto the floor in piles of broken glass. As if by design one whole plate is rolling on its side already halfway across the room. It lands at his feet with a <em>groing-oing-oing</em>.</p><p>Luckily Iroh is too busy apologizing profusely to the irate and sputtering innkeeper so neither of them notice the plate or Sokka’s presence. Sokka steps over the plate, still hugging the wall. He bites his lip as he passes far too close to the two men than is strictly comfortable and slips out the door.</p><p>-</p><p>It’s evening by the time he finds camp. “Where have you been?” Aang asks.</p><p>“Don’t you have any food?” Katara asks.</p><p>“No,” says Sokka, his voice carefully measured. “No I do not.” He stretches until he hears a satisfying <em>crack-crack-crack</em> up his spine. “Now if you excuse me I’m going to eat the rest of my blubbered seal jerky and consider my place in the universe.”</p><p>And he does exactly that.</p><p>“What’s up with him,” Aang asks.</p><p>Katara shrugs, hums a wordless <em>I dunno</em>.</p>
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